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"We have just finished the last two days of official testing here at Philip Island and I can't wait for the WorldSBK Championship to kick off,” said 27-year-old.

“Testing has gone pretty well. We had a tricky time trying to find the right feeling with the bike in some parts of the track, but on Tuesday we made some really big steps.

“We have a lot of information to look over before the weekend and we've completed two full race simulations on the tyre options available.

“Some were positive, some were negative, and I believe we now have as much information, data, and knowledge as anyone, so it is down to us now to put it all into practice and kick the 2018 season off in the best way possible for Yamaha and myself by fighting for the win.”

Alex Lowes with his Pata Yamaha crew

Lowes was linked with a switch to MotoGP only last month after it was confirmed Tech 3 Yamaha’s Jonas Folger will miss 2018 due to illness.

The former North Kesteven School pupil raced briefly for Tech 3 in 2016 as a stand-in rider. However, Lowes has stressed his commitment to Yamaha’s World Superbike project.

"I'm fully committed to Yamaha for WorldSBK 2018 and fighting at the front and they’re committed to me,” said Lowes.

“I've not even thought about the open MotoGP space as I am fully focused on our project."

Lowes’ twin brother Sam, who has returned to Moto2 after a frustrating season in MotoGP, begins his season in Qatar on March 18. He has signed for the Swiss Innovative Investors team.